Student discount - changes

[Train2104]

Changes to the student discount:

https://www.amtrak.com/student

-Now 15% instead of 10%

-No membership required anymore, simply present a student ID onboard

-Only bookable through the desktop website - no mobile app, no mobile website, no phone, no ticket office

 

[fairviewroad]

Would have appreciated this a bit more about 20 years ago.

So let's take a look at the Amtrak discount matrix:

Kids under age 2 are free.

Kids 2-12 are half-price (with full fare adult).

Students age 17-25 get 15% off (with student ID).

And if you're 13, 14, 15 or 16 years old...you're full freight.

That means that in many cases, high school juniors and seniors will get a discount, but high school freshmen and sophomores won't.

Not sure I understand the logic to this, but oh well.

 

[the_traveler]

I don't know about now, but back in the old days when I was in school, I did not have a student ID card when I was in 11th grade that I could carry with me. College ID yes, but not a high school ID (as a 17 year old).

 

[daybeers]

I don't know about now, but back in the old days when I was in school, I did not have a student ID card when I was in 11th grade that I could carry with me. College ID yes, but not a high school ID (as a 17 year old).

I'm a senior in high school, and I have a school ID with my picture. I've had one all four years.

Changes to the student discount:

https://www.amtrak.com/student

-Now 15% instead of 10%

-No membership required anymore, simply present a student ID onboard

-Only bookable through the desktop website - no mobile app, no mobile website, no phone, no ticket office

It's strange it says it's available "exclusively on amtrak.com." Do you know if it's true that you can't call to get this discount?

This is great for me! I've always been able to use AAA, but 15% is a steal!

 

[fairviewroad]

I don't know about now, but back in the old days when I was in school, I did not have a student ID card when I was in 11th grade that I could carry with me. College ID yes, but not a high school ID (as a 17 year old).

Same here, but I'd guess in today's ultra-security-conscious world, that ID cards for high school students are more of a "thing." Of course, considering both the age range and the promotional copy, this is clearly aimed at college students. Nothing in the T&C limits it to college students, though.

 

[Big Iron]

Glad to see this. My daughter starts at Univ. of Mary Washington this fall and plans to take the train back and forth, RVR-FBG. The bump from 10% to 15% saves a buck each way so no windfall for the shorthaul but I'll take it.

What I'd like to see is the Starving Parent discount, just show a cancelled tuition check!!

 

[SarahZ]

That means that in many cases, high school juniors and seniors will get a discount, but high school freshmen and sophomores won't.

Not sure I understand the logic to this, but oh well.

Some people, like me, graduate from high school when they're 17. This covers those college freshmen who aren't 18 yet.

 

[fairviewroad]

That means that in many cases, high school juniors and seniors will get a discount, but high school freshmen and sophomores won't.

Not sure I understand the logic to this, but oh well.

Some people, like me, graduate from high school when they're 17. This covers those college freshmen who aren't 18 yet.

I hear ya. I was a college freshman at age 17 (I turned 18 in October of my freshman year). I definitely would have used this discount going to and from school, though the discount would have been only a buck or so each way at the time.

But if this was truly geared towards college students, then why place an upper limit of 25? There are plenty of non-traditional age students attending college.

The answer, of course, is that school ID's are so ridiculously easy to fabricate...so if you didn't place an upper age limit, you'd basically be creating a permanent 15% discount program.

 

[Acela150]

10 years ago it was 15% then it dropped to 10%. Now it's back to 15% Go figure.

 

[SubwayNut]

Damn! I'm in my final year of grad school and am just too old for this discount. I know plenty of grad students older than this who've gotten the severely discounted ski passes (they require a registers office letter also though).

 

[fairviewroad]

10 years ago it was 15% then it dropped to 10%. Now it's back to 15% Go figure.

Until now it required a paid membership in the Student Advantage program. The membership fee paid for itself if you traveled a modest amount of times. But this new discount drops that requirement.

 

[AmtrakLKL]

Effective November 3, 2017, the student discount will only be valid on state supported services. This means no discounts on Acela Express, most NEC Regionals, and the long distance trains. Regional trains to/from Virginia and Springfield, MA and the Keystones will continue to honor the discount on the full route. Any Thruway buses connecting to/from an eligible train will also honor the discount.

Amtrak.com cannot book connecting trains where one has a discount and the other does not. The entire itinerary will be ineligible for the student discount. Therefore, you should book separate reservations to receive the discount on the state-supported connection.

 

[Pere Flyer]

Disappointing news. Does this also mean that connections from a state-supported student discounted ticket to a LD ticket are no longer guaranteed, as separate reservations?

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[Devil's Advocate]

Disappointing news. Does this also mean that connections from a state-supported student discounted ticket to a LD ticket are no longer guaranteed, as separate reservations?

I've been wanting a definitive answer to this for years.

 

[bmjhagen9426]

Effective November 3, 2017, the student discount will only be valid on state supported services. This means no discounts on Acela Express, most NEC Regionals, and the long distance trains. Regional trains to/from Virginia and Springfield, MA and the Keystones will continue to honor the discount on the full route. Any Thruway buses connecting to/from an eligible train will also honor the discount.

Amtrak.com cannot book connecting trains where one has a discount and the other does not. The entire itinerary will be ineligible for the student discount. Therefore, you should book separate reservations to receive the discount on the state-supported connection.

Trying to disncentivize student riders and as a result drive down the leadership, perhaps? I am a student but do not use student discount (I mainly use NARP discount fares, Saver fares, or undiscounted value/flexible fares), but just want to toss that idea here.

Add: How come student discount is online only?

 

[AmtrakLKL]

Add: How come student discount is online only?

In exchange for a discounted fare the company wants you to book your ticket via the least expensive distribution model - online or in the mobile app.

 

[Anderson]

Effective November 3, 2017, the student discount will only be valid on state supported services. This means no discounts on Acela Express, most NEC Regionals, and the long distance trains. Regional trains to/from Virginia and Springfield, MA and the Keystones will continue to honor the discount on the full route. Any Thruway buses connecting to/from an eligible train will also honor the discount.

Amtrak.com cannot book connecting trains where one has a discount and the other does not. The entire itinerary will be ineligible for the student discount. Therefore, you should book separate reservations to receive the discount on the state-supported connection.

Trying to disncentivize student riders and as a result drive down the leadership, perhaps? I am a student but do not use student discount (I mainly use NARP discount fares, Saver fares, or undiscounted value/flexible fares), but just want to toss that idea here.

Add: How come student discount is online only?

I'm not quite sure why. I remember when I had the SA card (with the 15% discount; it was a decent net over the others, though it was also the main benefit of the card and when it went from 15% to 10% and went online-only I threw the card out), they randomly announced that it became a web-only discount in something like 2011. My best guess is that they were trying to push online bookings or somesuch, but doing the change at more or less the same time as they cut the benefit basically made it pointless (since AAA is pretty pervasive in terms of membership and given *ahem* Amtrak's well-known inability to verify a discount to save their life). IIRC the same change also made sleeper fares ineligible (which struck me as petty since it was only on the coach portion of the fare...I mean, c'mon...$15-20 off a $1000 fare?); I don't recall if a Business Class restriction also appeared.

I do understand nixing the Acela from the discount (I wouldn't be surprised, in the long run, to see most discounts not apply to the Acela) but everything else seems silly. My best guess, btw, is that the state-supported trains are keeping the discount since Amtrak would probably have to get the states to agree to remove it (and there's a good chance that more than a few of them wouldn't be amenable to such).

Edit: I got an ID in high school, but that was actually a case of the school issuing us IDs so we could get student discounts, not because they ever needed to see our IDs on campus (bear in mind, my graduating class was about 50 students).

 

[daybeers]

Wow, this is very, very disappointing news. I use the student discount on every trip I take. Luckily, I will be able to use my AAA discount, but that extra 5% off was nice. I'm sure this will put a sizeable dent in ridership, because students probably aren't likely to have a AAA membership. That makes 15% off a huge advantage.

I bet Amtrak will lose more revenue over this change than the revenue they lose when tickets are booked with the discount. Silly bean counters at 60 Mass Ave in DC!

By the way, the discount is still prominently displayed on Amtrak's main page, and when trying to book a trip with the Student discount, it just puts a Fare Alert over every fare class, i.e. Saver, Flexible, etc, but the window that pops up when clicking on it doesn't really explain why.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Does anybody know if it is possible to call Amtrak and uncancel a reservation? I had booked a trip before the change and cancelled it because I received an Amtrak voucher and wanted to rebook with it, but I would rather save the voucher if I have to pay a higher fare.

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[Devil's Advocate]

Does anybody know if it is possible to call Amtrak and uncancel a reservation? I had booked a trip before the change and cancelled it because I received an Amtrak voucher and wanted to rebook with it, but I would rather save the voucher if I have to pay a higher fare.

You can book and then you can cancel. That's as far as Amtrak allows you to go. Real life doesn't come with an undo button.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Does anybody know if it is possible to call Amtrak and uncancel a reservation? I had booked a trip before the change and cancelled it because I received an Amtrak voucher and wanted to rebook with it, but I would rather save the voucher if I have to pay a higher fare.

You can book and then you can cancel. That's as far as Amtrak allows you to go. Real life doesn't come with an undo button.

That is pretty much what I assumed, but when I was canceling that it was stated that cancellations could not be undone on the website, which implies to me that they may be possible through some other means.
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[Devil's Advocate]

It's technically possible, just not in the way you mean. Recreating an older ticket with a lower fare is a manual process that requires supervisor approval and mainly occurs when Amtrak has made some sort of mistake or experienced some sort of error on their end. It's not normally employed for customers who simply wish to undo their previous changes. At this point you can either eat the loss and hopefully remember to look before you leap in the future, or you can try your hand at manipulating the call center staff into making an exception. Each path has it's own pros and cons but both will be a valuable learning experience.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

It's technically possible, just not in the way you mean. Recreating an older ticket with a lower fare is a manual process that requires supervisor approval and mainly occurs when Amtrak has made some sort of mistake or experienced some sort of error on their end. It's not normally employed for customers who simply wish to undo their previous changes. At this point you can either eat the loss and hopefully remember to look before you leap in the future, or you can try your hand at manipulating the call center staff into making an exception. Each path has it's own pros and cons but both will be a valuable learning experience.

Okay, thanks for the information. I think I'll just keep it the way it is. The actual price difference is minimal so I'm not as concerned with that as long as the money is returned to my account before the price increases drastically. Next time I will look more closely, although this situation it rather unusual. I actually did check the price before cancelling but since the student discount is not available in the app and know the ratio, I only checked the price for an adult ticket.
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[Skyline]

I don't know about now, but back in the old days when I was in school, I did not have a student ID card when I was in 11th grade that I could carry with me. College ID yes, but not a high school ID (as a 17 year old).

Same here, but I'd guess in today's ultra-security-conscious world, that ID cards for high school students are more of a "thing." Of course, considering both the age range and the promotional copy, this is clearly aimed at college students. Nothing in the T&C limits it to college students, though.

Parents are overly worried about every little thing they fear "might" happen. They expect school buses to drop their kids off at their front doors. Their children rarely walk anywhere or take public transportation, and then we lament the obesity crisis. They don't let kids go out and play; they schedule "play dates" with other kids through their parents. In a generation, will we be implanting electronic chips in kids like we do in dogs? Let kids be kids. Let them learn through trial and error. Yes, there will be the rare tragedy, but we see them happening anyway and always have. Rant over.

To keep this on topic -- it doesn't surprise me that high schoolers or younger have ID cards today, so if Amtrak is offering discounts for all kids except 13-16 year olds, the possession of a student ID should allow them to get a discount, too. It wouldn't hurt the Amtrak bottom line that much, and might even attract new business.

 

[fairviewroad]

I don't know about now, but back in the old days when I was in school, I did not have a student ID card when I was in 11th grade that I could carry with me. College ID yes, but not a high school ID (as a 17 year old).

Same here, but I'd guess in today's ultra-security-conscious world, that ID cards for high school students are more of a "thing." Of course, considering both the age range and the promotional copy, this is clearly aimed at college students. Nothing in the T&C limits it to college students, though.

Parents are overly worried about every little thing they fear "might" happen. They expect school buses to drop their kids off at their front doors. Their children rarely walk anywhere or take public transportation, and then we lament the obesity crisis. They don't let kids go out and play; they schedule "play dates" with other kids through their parents. In a generation, will we be implanting electronic chips in kids like we do in dogs? Let kids be kids. Let them learn through trial and error. Yes, there will be the rare tragedy, but we see them happening anyway and always have. Rant over.

To keep this on topic -- it doesn't surprise me that high schoolers or younger have ID cards today, so if Amtrak is offering discounts for all kids except 13-16 year olds, the possession of a student ID should allow them to get a discount, too. It wouldn't hurt the Amtrak bottom line that much, and might even attract new business.

The part you quoted was from last year. With this thread coming up again, I checked the Amtrak website and it now says student discounts are available for ages 13-25. So the gap between the "kid" discount and the "college" discount is now gone.

However, the 15% student discount is not available with Amtrak's cheapest fare bucket ("Saver") fares, so it has a limited benefit for those who purchase tickets well in advance or have some flexibility on departure time.